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Joshua Learn
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Illegal poaching of wild animals for the pet trade is a major threat to global biodiversity. Researchers from Arizona State University and The Australian National University developed an interactive mapping tool to help law enforcement officials identify and stop illegal wildlife trade hot spots in Mexico.
The research, which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, takes advantage of thousands of confiscation records over three decades in Mexico. The map highlights both popular routes for wildlife smuggling as well as where traffickers are likely to strike next.
The researchers took into account policy changes, like a 2008 ban in Mexico on capturing and trading native parrots.
They found that half of Mexico’s 20 native parrots are threatened by wildlife trafficking and that not a single native parrot species has improved its conservation status since 1993. They also found that trafficking routes were more concentrated in southeastern Mexico and across the Yucatán Peninsula.
Greg Asner, co-author and director of the Arizona State University’s Center for Global Discovery and Conservation, said that the new tool will help enforcement agencies be proactive, not just reactive. “By anticipating criminal behavior and pinpointing transit bottlenecks, law enforcement can strategically deploy resources to intercept traffickers before the animals reach urban markets,” he said.
Read more at Arizona State University.
The post Uncovering “hidden highways” of wildlife trafficking in Mexico appeared first on The Wildlife Society.
The research, which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, takes advantage of thousands of confiscation records over three decades in Mexico. The map highlights both popular routes for wildlife smuggling as well as where traffickers are likely to strike next.
The researchers took into account policy changes, like a 2008 ban in Mexico on capturing and trading native parrots.
They found that half of Mexico’s 20 native parrots are threatened by wildlife trafficking and that not a single native parrot species has improved its conservation status since 1993. They also found that trafficking routes were more concentrated in southeastern Mexico and across the Yucatán Peninsula.
Greg Asner, co-author and director of the Arizona State University’s Center for Global Discovery and Conservation, said that the new tool will help enforcement agencies be proactive, not just reactive. “By anticipating criminal behavior and pinpointing transit bottlenecks, law enforcement can strategically deploy resources to intercept traffickers before the animals reach urban markets,” he said.
Read more at Arizona State University.
The post Uncovering “hidden highways” of wildlife trafficking in Mexico appeared first on The Wildlife Society.
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